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About

Why This Exists

Permit fee data has historically lived behind enterprise paywalls — insurance adjuster software, contractor licensing databases, claims management platforms. If you're a homeowner trying to figure out how much a building permit costs in your city, your options were: call the permit office and wait on hold, or guess.

We built this database by individually researching published municipal fee schedules across 28+ U.S. cities. Every number links to its source document on the city's official website. If a fee changes, you can verify it yourself.

This is the free public version of data that previously only existed behind enterprise paywalls. A journalist doesn't have an Xactimate license. A homeowner planning a remodel doesn't. But they can both use this database, and they can verify every number against the source URL.

The database is updated quarterly. If you find an error or a city we're missing, let us know.

Who Built This
DO
David Olson
Permit Data Researcher
Built this dataset by individually researching published municipal fee schedules across 100+ U.S. cities. Background in data engineering, ML, and statistical validation. Every fee links to its source document. Background includes building the National Home Improvement Cost Index (4,030 price records across 158 services and 26 MSAs), with data sourced from BLS OES, FRED PPI, Census CBP, and 40+ municipal permit PDFs manually audited.
CT
Leonard “Chuck” Thompson
Construction Industry Reviewer
Founder, LC Thompson Construction Co., Jefferson City, MO. Built custom homes, spec homes, and commercial projects across central Missouri. Reviews permit data for accuracy against real-world construction experience.